The present invention relates generally to the field of disposable diapers for infants and small children and more specifically to a disposable toddler training panty to be used during the period when a small child is being toilet trained.
During the difficult period when a child is being toilet trained, there are a number of transitions which must be accomplished. Most particularly, during the waking hours, a child must adapt to a new form of undergarment, discarding the conventional diaper and wearing some sort of a less bulky panty in its place. It is well known in the prior art to substitute a cloth training pant for a diaper during the transitional period of toilet training. During this period the child begins to recognize the difference in the garments and the different behavior modes he or she should adopt as a result thereof. However, during this transitional period the child often soils the training pants as the learning process progresses. This presents every working or nonworking mother with the highly undesirable task of rinsing out the cloth training pants which have been substituted for the disposal diaper employed prior to toilet training.
Applicant has operated a family daycare center for twenty-five years and has performed the unenviable task of toilet training a great number of children. Although it is an essential part of the toilet training process to acclimate the child to a different form of undergarment, such as training pants, it is not essential that the training pants be of the cloth or nondisposable variety. In fact, there is a strong felt yet unfulfilled need for a disposable toddler training panty which is which is thin enough and distinct enough from a diaper to alert the child of the new form of garment being used during the toliet training process so that the child becomes aware of an expected change in his or her behavior.
The present invention is designed to have the convenience of the disposable diaper while still being light enough and distinct enough from a diaper so that the child is aware of the difference. Thus, the instant invention is intended to have the same function as a regular cloth toddler training panty, with the advantage of not having to be rinsed out by hand after being soiled. After the transition period, the child will readily adapt to a child's panty or shorts made from cloth.
Normally toddler training pants are worn by placing the child's feet in the leg holes and sliding the training pants up into the proper position, and removal is accomplished by the reverse process. However, if the training pants are soiled then removal becomes an offensive task. The disposable toddler training pants according to the instant application overcome this problem by providing side portions with a perforate seam or a chain stitched seam along each side thereof, so that the seams can be readily split apart from the waistband to the legband on both sides thereby providing for easy removal of the training panties.
The following citations represent the prior art of which applicant is aware that may be germane to the patent process:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,550, Magid; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,195, Murdoch; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,638, Rickard; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,878, Willot.
The patent to Magid is of interest since it teaches the use of a thermoplastic panty having separable side portions to accommodate a front removal therefrom. The separable side seams 28 provided in Magid are heat sealed and designed to be detachably rejoined for further use. The device according to the instant application is easily distinquished in that the training pants are designed to be completely disposable after one use and are provided along interior portions with a soft inner lining in conjunction with an absorbent padded area. Furthermore, the side seams associated with the instant invention are simply a perforate or a stitched area and designed to be stripped to an open position quite readily and thereafter removed for disposal.
The remaining citations further delineate the state of the art, however none of the citations taken singly or in any conceivable combination would appear to anticipate nor render obvious the invention as disclosed herein.